A new guidebook, HandMade in the Northern Forest: A guide to fine art and craft traditions in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, showcases the wide variety and high quality of the region’s artists and craft providers. The book was designed as the cornerstone of a program to help Northern Forest artisans and crafts people, as well as other local business owners, capitalize on the growing heritage craft tourism market.

Heritage craft tourists bring an estimated half-billion dollars to the Northern Forest economy each year. Thousands of Northern Forest artists and crafters rely on heritage tourists for a major portion of their income and constantly seek new ways to increase awareness of both their business and the Northern Forest as a heritage craft tourist destination.

HandMade in the Northern Forest lists 365 artisans and craftspeople, galleries, craft marketplaces, special attractions, restaurants and historic inns, organized into 13 driving tours throughout the four-state Northern Forest region. Colorful maps of each route guide tourists on their way while giving them a sense of place. Underscoring the importance of heritage in the Northern Forest, each chapter includes a cultural heritage profile, sidebar articles and interesting “tidbits” about locations along the way.

HandMade in the Northern Forest is published by the Northern Forest Center and Businesses for the Northern Forest. It is available from participating businesses, at bookstores throughout the Northern Forest and beyond and Enfield Publishing, 603-632-7377, info@enfieldbooks.com. More information about the book is available at www.HandMadeInTheNorthernForest.com.